Sustainable Sanitation 101

I registered for a class this quarter called "The Innovation Process I" - the course description noted that student would be learning about innovation, the theory behind concept development and product development. I later learned that the course s actually cross-registered, meaning that it is intended to blend several majors. The course is composed for half Mechanical Engineering students and half Industrial Design students. The focus within the "innovation" umbrella is to evaluate the sustainable sanitation problems in third world countries, such as Haiti. Our professor spent several years in Haiti and now she is back in Rochester and looking to lead a crew of students to learn about the related issues / need for sanitation, and develop a proposal for a sustainable system to be used in these countries.

This is one of the first classes I have taken that is "open ended" in nature - there is no "defined" answer to declare week 10, as you find in general math or engineering courses. Rather we are instructed to really put the past four years of education to work and utilize the tools we have learned in class to truly benefit society.

It has only been one day, but the course sounds truly amazing and inspiring, so I am hopeful it will stay that way and I hope to keep everyone updated on the progress as we move through the process.